PF: Zach Randolph, Memphis

Opponent: at L.A. Clippers
Price: $5,400
Randolph has grown more accustomed to his sixth man role, and head coach David Fizdale has made a more concerted effort to make sure that Z-Bo is on the court in crunch time. The Clippers are a tough matchup given their athleticism, but with Randolph likely to see as much (if not more) of Marreese Speights than starter Blake Griffin as a result of his new role he should enjoy a productive night. Randolph's scored 24.6 FanDuel points or more in each of his last five games. (Getty)

News out of LA today is that the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony have halted their talks.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

The Los Angeles Lakers and free agent Carmelo Anthony are pausing talks on a possible contract agreement unless the franchise makes a turn back toward pursuit of Western Conference playoffs contention, league sources told ESPN.

The Lakers had been leaning toward signing Anthony for the rest of the season — until losses in four of the past five games left the organization and Anthony’s camp wondering if it made sense to bring the veteran into an unsettled environment with suddenly so little chance of making the playoffs, league sources said.

“Hearing that Z-Bo to LA is the likely outcome,” a league source shared with me recently.

That falls in line with news out of Los Angeles two weeks ago that Randolph was seen working out in Los Angeles Lakers sweats in LA.

“I bumped into Zach Randolph at the gym in LA and he was in Lakers sweat suit,” an NFL’er told me via text message recently.

Randolph, 37, was part of the trade that shipped Harrison Barnes to the Sacramento Kings.

According to the New York Times’ Mark Stein, Randolph is expected to have a “sizable buyout market” once he’s free to sign with other teams at a more cost-effective deal, which he now is.Though Randolph is just one season removed from averaging 14.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.6 minutes per game, he seems unlikely to receive close to that level of playing time no matter where he might wind up.

The actual trade included Randolph and Justin Jackson to the Mavericks in exchange for Harrison Barnes.

Per CBS: The Mavericks most likely agreed to take Randolph back in the deal for salary-matching purposes, as Jackson, a 2017 first-round pick, looks to be the main target here.Randolph was bought out by the Mavericks shortly after the Barnes trade.After striking out on acquiring Anthony Davis at the NBA trade deadline, Randolph could be a viable option.In 17 seasons, Randolph has posted 6.6 points and 9.1 rebounds with five teams. Randolph has been out of the rotation all season in Sacramento, not even logging a single minute of run.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been deliberate in watching their cap space all season.

LA added savvy veterans like Tyson Chandler into the fold along with Michael Beasley and Rajon Rondo during the offseason. Beasley has since been traded, waived and signed with a team in China.